Astrologaster is a narrative game published by Nyamnam. It was released in May 2019 for PCs, Macs, and the iOS.
The year is 1592, and a plague is sweeping London, leaving traditional doctors flummoxed. Fortunately, you are no traditional doctor. You are Simon Forman
, expert astrologer and real-life quack. By reading the stars, you will divine answers for every problem your clients ("querents") bring to you, from food poisoning to impotence.
Who knows, you might even earn a real doctor's license.
This game includes the following tropes:
- Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Querents will not stop seeking Simon's advice, no matter what awful stuff he says or does to them. Although out of character, this means that every querent's "route" can be seen in one playthrough, without locking the player into certain choices or punishing historically-ignorant players.
- Black Comedy: The ignorance and bigotry of medieval people, especially their idea of "medicine", is mocked even as the characters suffer because of it.
- Black Widow: Over her many consultations, it becomes clear that Emma Sharpe is murdering her husbands, who are invariably old men with a lot of money.
- Cold Reading: The astrological interpretation that aligns with things the querent has said, or traits they have, is usually the best option to choose.
- Kavorka Man: Simon is (
in dialogue) an ugly, stunted man, and his sprite is deathly pale and pockmarked from the plague that almost killed him...yet several querents have sex with him. It's partly justified by Alice Blague, at least, being willing to have sex with anyone. - The Peeping Tom: Simon regularly prowls around the homes of his attractive female querents. He's not meant to be a sympathetic character.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: Catholics are being murdered by their neighbours in a frenzy of religious fervor, the bubonic plague is sweeping through London once more, and Simon has been boarded up in his house and left to die. He despairingly consults the stars one last time...and finds that his story has not ended yet. Reignited, he yells for his assistant to fetch him a crowbar and starts prying off the boards.
- Running Gag: How handsome Simon's manservant is.
